While the tutorial is an introduction to development with Enterprise JavaBeans, this is not entry level material; you should be an intermediate or higher level Java programmer with some understanding of JDBC to get the most out of it and fully understand the code examples. You will also need to know how servlets and JavaServer Pages™ (JSPs) work to understand the client code. However, the material can be read purely to gain an overview of what EJBs are about and how J2EE and Enterprise JavaBeans work together.

     The tutorial covers EJB technology as of the J2EE 1.3.1 SDK and the Enterprise JavaBeans 2.0 specification. At the time of writing, a beta release of J2EE 1.4 and a draft of the 2.1 EJB specification had just been released. Appendix D: What's New in the EJB 2.1 Specification? briefly reviews the new capabilities.

     In short, if you are a reasonably experienced Java programmer interested in increasing your skill set and understanding the Java platform's approach to enterprise applications, Getting Started with Enterprise JavaBeans is for you.

     If you want to create your own J2EE and EJB applications and/or understand the flow and rationale for the example applications, the following approach is recommended:

• Read the J2EE/EJB Overview panels.
• Read Appendix A: Installing and Running J2EE.
• Read Appendix B: Deployment.
• Read Appendix C: About the Example Applications.
• Then continue with the tutorial at Session Beans.

The Resources panel presents a list of tutorials, articles, and other references that expand upon the material presented here.